Pursuant to Article V, § 4, of the South Carolina Constitution, the South Carolina Court-Annexed Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules are hereby amended as provided in the attachment to this order. These amendments shall be submitted to the General Assembly as provided by Art. V, § 4A of the South Carolina Constitution.

(1) If there are unresolved issues of custody or visitation, the court may in its discretion order an early mediation of those issues upon motion of a party or upon the court's own motion.

The first sentence of Rule 4(d)(2), South Carolina Court-Annexed Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules, is amended to provide as follows:

(2) If issues are in dispute and no Proof of ADR has been filed certifying that the issues have been mediated, the parties must mediate those issues prior to the scheduling of a hearing on the merits; provided, however, the parties may submit the issues of property and alimony to binding arbitration in accordance with subparagraph (5).